Open Water Walleyes

It's not every day I get to spend an afternoon in the boat with a Hall of Fame angler. Today I was lucky enough to do just that. It's an honor and quite the humbling experience to be in a position to do such a thing. Sure I work for the company that Ron Schara started many moons ago, and we work along side each other day in and day out, but to get away from the hustle and bustle of the office life and spend time in "our element," was pretty special. No cameras, no motive; just good clean fishing for the simple fun of it all.

Our location - the Mississippi River in the heart of the Twin Cities. Pool 2 they call it, and it's catch and release year round. Our target was the gorging spring walleyes that fill the flowing waters. For myself this was trip number 4 on the season, for Ron Schara, it was his first. Ron and I are both a little competitive when we fish together, so going into it I figured I would have the upper hand with the slough of walleyes already to my name.

During our drift, we shared stories and laughs about fishy topics. I had a couple, but mostly I just listened to the man that's been there and done that. We bounced ideas and thoughts off each other, and I think you could say that each one of us learned a thing or two while we floated that water. I learned that my favorite all-time fishing pole does have a life span, and it ended on March 10, 2010. I now know a few "secret spots" that produced jumbo walleyes many years ago. I learned a lot of things from Ron on our short trip on the water, but one thing will definitely stand out from them all. It is important to catch the first fish and the biggest fish. I did neither, and now I will have to live with it for a very long time...

Thank you for another memorable trip Ron. Congrats on the first fish and the biggest fish, but please note, I won't let it happen again!

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Travis Frank’s motto is "Livin’ the dream." That means he’s on the water or in the field 300 days a year. He’s been a fishing guide at Trophy Encounters for the past 10 seasons chasing Minnesota’s toughest fish, the muskie. When he’s not on the water, he's in the deer stand or chasing Midwest fowl.